Convertible backpack

ABSTRACT

A convertible backpack which can be carried on the back of a person has a right pocket and an adjacent spaced apart left pocket with each pocket attached on the back of a person by a shoulder strap. The right pocket has an outer peripheral closure member which can be opened and closed to insert various articles therein and the left pocket has an outer peripheral closure member which can be opened and closed to insert various articles therein. The inner peripheral edges of the two pockets are connected together by means of spaced apart buckles with each buckle having a male part and a female part. 
     The backpack is convertible into a single pocket backpack by simply unfastening the adjacent right and left inner peripheral edges when the male member of each buckle is disengaged from the female member of the opposite buckle member.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to backpacks or carrying bags and is particularly related to modular backpacks having multiple compartments for carrying a variety of articles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Backpacks have been and are currently widely used for carrying a variety of articles. For example, students use backpacks for carrying books, stationary articles, and even their lunch. Military personnel use backpacks for carrying and transporting military supplies and equipment, and mountain climbers use backpacks for carrying climbing paraphernalia. Over the years, backpacks have evolved from a single compartment bag to multiple compartments in construction, with some being modular for convenience of use and access to the articles in the compartments. For convenience of carrying, the backpacks are provided with straps to be worn over the shoulders of a person carrying the backpack.

There are several patents and publications which describe and illustrate various backpacks.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,657 issued to Ronald G. Brunton on Dec. 2, 1980 discloses a simple backpack with shoulder straps used as a travelers pack.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,502 issued to Greg E. Love and Michael R. Low discloses a backpack having a releasable climbing harness.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,117 issued to James D. Calton on Jun. 16, 1987 discloses a backpack cooler.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,603 issued to John J. Creamer and John Miller on Jul. 17, 1990 discloses a backpack having insulated compartments.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,279 issued to Douglas M. Brown and Donald J. Erickson on Apr. 3, 1996 discloses a cooler backpack having two or more storage compartments.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,792 issued to Billy C. Arnwine on Aug. 13, 1990 discloses a convertible student book bag.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,750 B1 issued to Monica Von Neuman on Feb. 20, 2001 discloses a modular backpack having four bags connected together by zippers or straps.

Pub. No. US 2007/0175941 A1 published on Aug. 2, 2007 in the names of Robert L. Berry and Christopher Granger discloses a backpack having several compartments for holding articles.

Pub. No. US 2010/0237110 A1 published on Sep. 23, 2010 in the name of Scott Leroy Hunter discloses a modular backpack with two back panels removably attached together.

Notwithstanding the variety of backpacks available in the market there is still need for a practical compact and convenient to wear backpacks for daily use and for travel.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a backpack having readily accessible compartments for storing various articles.

It is another object of this invention to provide a backpack which is useful as a travelling backpack.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a backpack having two pockets which is convertible to a backpack have one pocket.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a backpack which is suitable for use by students to carry their books and various other articles in several compartments.

The foregoing and other objects of this invention will be more clearly understood and appreciated from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which form part of this application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a convertible backpack which is normally carried on the back of a person. The backpack has two pockets, a right pocket and a left pocket which are spaced apart adjacent to each other, extend along the height of the backpack and are secured on the back of the person by shoulder straps. The right pocket has a right outer edge which includes a zipper for opening and closing the right pocket and the left pocket and has a left outer edge which includes a zipper for opening and closing the left pocket. The right pocket is also defined by a left peripheral edge and the left pocket is defined by a right peripheral edge wherein said left peripheral edge of the right pocket and said right peripheral edge of said left pocket are adjacent to one another in spaced apart relation and connected to each other by spaced apart buckles. Each buckle has a male member attached to the inner peripheral edge of one of said pocket and a female member attached to the inner peripheral edge of the opposed pocket and are adapted to inter-engage each other. The right and left pocket each can contain several articles including a cooler if desired.

By opening the buckles the backpack may be converted into a single pocket backpack. In another embodiment, the right and left pockets do not include any buckles but the opposed facing peripheral edges are joined by a fastening zipper which may be opened, pulled down and around the backpack thus forming a third pocket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following description of the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the rear of the backpack of the present invention showing two interconnected, side-by-side pockets on the backpack worn by the wearer;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing compartments in each pocket, said compartments containing several articles;

FIG. 3 is a partly perspective exploded view of the two pockets on the backpack shown in FIG. 1 with associated straps for each pocket;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a backpack having a single pocket worn on the back of the wearer;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the left and right pockets and a middle pocket formed between the left and right pockets; and

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring first to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1, a backpack generally designated by reference numeral 10 worn on the back of a person P by a pair of shoulder straps, a right shoulder strap 11 a and a left shoulder strap 11 b. The backpack 10 may be fabricated from any material such as plastic, cloth, leather or any suitable fabric, The backpack shown in FIG. 1 comprises two pockets, a right pocket 13 and a left pocket 15 both extending along the vertical length or height of the backpack. Pocket 13 is provided with an outer closure member, such as zipper 13 a having a zipper opener and closer 13 aa, and pocket 15 is also provided with an outer closure member such as zipper 15 a having a zipper opener and closer 15 bb. These normally closed zippers serve to open the pockets 13 and 15 in order to gain access to inside of each pocket for inserting compartments such as compartments 17,18 in the right pocket and compartments 19,20 in the left pocket. The compartments 17, 18, 19 and 20 may contain various articles such as articles 21 in compartments 17,18 and the same or other articles such as articles 23 in compartments 19,20 shown in FIG. 2. Pockets 13 and 15 are defined by face to face side edges 25 a, 25 b which may be connected to each other by buckles 27, 29, 31 which are spaced apart as shown in FIG. 1.

Each buckle is made by a male part and a female part adapted to inter-engage into one another. Thus, for example, the buckle 29 has a male part 29 b secured to the edge of the left side pocket 15 and a female part 29 c secured to the edge of the right side pocket 13. The other buckles, i.e., buckles 27 and 31 are similarly constructed and, therefore, when the male part of each buckle engages the female part of the buckle the side edge 25 and 25 b will be closed thus closing the left pocket 13 and the right pocket 15.

FIG. 5 of the drawings shows a backpack having three pockets, a right pocket 13, a left pocket 15, and a third pocket 33 formed between said right and left pockets. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the embodiment of this invention, the pockets are not connected by buckles but are connected by joining the opposed facing edges of said pockets by a zipper 35 having a zipper opener 35 a. When zipper 35 is opened by zipper opener 35 a and pulled down and around the backpack a third pocket 33 is formed which can serve to contain an additional article such as an umbrella 39 as shown in FIG. 5.

In another embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4 the convertible backpack shown in FIG. 1 may be converted to a single pocket backpack. This conversion involves unbuckling the buckles 27,29,31 and simply carrying the right pocket over the person's shoulder by the shoulder strap 11 a. 

1-13. (canceled)
 14. A backpack for carrying on the back of a person, said backpack comprising two pockets, a right pocket extending along the back of said person and a left pocket extending along the back of said person adjacent said right pocket, a front strap member attached to said right pocket and extending over the right shoulder of said person, and a left strap member extending over the left shoulder of said person, said right pocket having a right outer edge provided with a closure member adapted to open and close said right outer edge of said right pocket, and said left pocket having a left outer edge provided with a closure member adapted to open and close said left outer edge of said left pocket, and wherein said right pocket has a left edge and said left pocket has a right edge adjacent to said left edge of said right pocket wherein said left edge of said right pocket and said right edge of said left pocket are connected together by spaced-apart buckle members.
 15. A backpack as in claim 14 wherein said closure member of said right pocket and said closure member of said left pocket is each a zipper.
 16. A backpack as in claim 14 wherein each of said pockets comprises at least one compartment for one or more articles.
 17. A backpack as in claim 15 wherein each of said pockets comprises at least one compartment for one or more articles.
 18. A backpack for carrying on the back of a person comprising three contiguous pockets, a right pocket, a left pocket and a middle pocket between said right pocket and said left pocket, a first strap member attached to said right pocket and extending over the right shoulder of said person, and a second strap member attached to said left pocket and extending over the left shoulder of said person, said right pocket having a peripheral left side edge and said left pocket having a peripheral right side edge opposite the peripheral left side edge of said right pocket, a zipper member connecting said peripheral edge of said right pocket and said opposed peripheral edge of said left pocket, said zipper member adapted to form a middle pocket between said right pocket and said left pocket when said zipper member is pulled down and around said backpack. 